On the surface, Power BI looks like an easy to learn Microsoft tool, however what most people think they need to learn is often not even half of what they need. There is so much to learn to become a Power BI expert.
In summary you need to learn the following:
- Data Acquisition: Â In short, this is the process of fetching your data from wherever it lives, importing it into Power BI while cleaning and shaping it to meet your needs. Â Power BI has a revolutionary tool built in it to help you do this called Power Query. You get to access this tool from Get Data in the Power BI menu.
- Data Modelling: This is the process of taking your data and turning it into something more useful than just raw data so you can extract the key insights.  Power BI has an in-built engine to help you do this. The data modelling language is DAX (Data Analysis and Expressions). Once you learn how to write DAX you will be well on the way to becoming a Power BI expert.
- Data Visualisation: Once you have loaded your data and have the database designed to answer the business questions you have, you then need to visualise the data. Â Power BI has a brand new visualisation engine that is in a continuous state of improvement.
There is a bit of a hump to get started, but with a small amount of guidance you will be off and running.
About Matt Allington
Matt Allington is a Microsoft MVP (Power BI) specialising in the Microsoft Self Service BI Products. Matt Allington is a data platform expert and has been training Power BI for more than 5 years. Not all Power BI training is created equal. Â Matt has the ability to transform the seemingly complicated into easy-to-comprehend learning experiences.
 Matt has developed the training courses (beginner to advanced level) to make you a Power BI ninja.
Matt is the author of the best selling books Supercharge Power BI and Supercharge Excel.
Matt has a joint venture Skillwave with Ken Puls for providing online training courses.
There are various online learning options to suit your geo-location, time, requirement and level of expertise. See below for more details.
About Jason Cockington
Jason Cockington holds an MCSA in BI Reporting, and is a seasoned speaker, Microsoft Certified Trainer and consultant with Excelerator BI Pty Ltd.
Jason brings 15+ years’ experience lecturing, training, and using data to deliver strategic business value in an applied scientific research setting. Jason is passionate about sharing his knowledge and how good Self Service BIÂ
Jason’s enthusiasm for the amazing Power BI suite of tools is infectious, making the challenge of learning the necessary skills to get started engaging for individuals, teams and companies alike.
Jason combines his Research and Sales experience with his knowledge of Excel and Power BI to deliver a unique and engaging training course that teaches you exactly what you need to know to get you started on your own personal BI journey.
Service Offerings Available
The various service offerings available are
- Live Face to Face Class Room Training
- Live Instructor Led Online Training
- Semester based Online Training with Live Online Q&A Calls
- Video On Demand Online Training
- Corporate In-House Training
- Consulting/Coaching
- Remote Help & Support
The details are given below.
Live Face to Face / Live Instructor Led Online Training
Power BI For the Business Analyst
Matt and his accredited trainers deliver face to face training in Australia and live instructor-led online training globally.Â
- Module 1: Foundations of Power BI – Data to Dashboard (6.5 CPD hours)
- Module 2: Extracting Data Insights with Power BI and DAX (6.5 CPD hours)
At the end of the 2 modules you will be well on your way to becoming a Power BI ninja.
All participants will receive the certificate of completion at the end of the course.
Participants registered for module 2 will receive a copy of Matt’s book “Supercharge Power BI”.
Demystifying DAX – Advanced DAX Live Training
Matt delivers this Intermediate-Advanced DAX training course using his extensive knowledge of DAX and his commending experience in training and consulting to make the training practical and relevant. The training covers the more complicated advanced principles of data modelling using Power BI and the DAX language in different areas to solve the real world business problems.Â
Semester based Online Training with Live Online Q&A Calls
Power BI for the Business Analyst Online Training with
Live Online Q&A Calls
This is a beginner’s training course to learn Power BI end to end. The training is developed and delivered by Matt Allington.
This is a self-paced course with online videos explaining the concepts and demos. You can follow along with the practice exercise workbooks provided to you. Every semester has 4 Q&A calls with Jason Cockington wherein you can ask your questions and get solutions to your business problems.
In this training course
You will learn how to build different types of Power BI Reports, Publish the reports to Power BI.com, Power BI.com features and dashboards.- You will learn how to cleanse the data and/or consolidate the data before loading into Power BI data model.
- You will then learn data modeling in Power BI, with DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) to extract data insights to produce effective and efficient reports.
If you want guided self-paced learning of Power BI then this training is for you.
All participants will receive the certificate of completion at the end of the course.
Power BI for the Business Analyst Online Training details can be found here.
Supercharge Power BI Online Training with Live Online Q&A Calls
If you want guided learning of DAX and become a Power BI Data Modeller and DAX ninja you can opt for this training, where you study specified chapters from Matt’s book Supercharge Power BI, watch the associated online videos and attend live online Q&A sessions with Matt Allington. This is a high quality Online Power BI training course that will teach you how to get the most from this tool. Participants of this hands-on Power BI online training program will soon realise there is so much more you can do with Power BI once you learn to write DAX.
This Power BI online training course is a combination of:
- Self
-paced remote learning using one of Matt’s books – Supercharge Power BI or Supercharge Excel. (3 hours per week for 7 weeks – 21 CPD hours). The books contain many worked through examples and practice exercises to cement your learning. - Weekly video based training with examples and demos to support the complex topics in the book. (1 hour per lesson for 5 lessons – 5 CPD hours)
- Weekly live screen sharing Q&A sessions with Matt Allington. (1 hour per week for 5 weeks – 5 CPD hours)
Total CPD hours = 21+5+5 = 31 hours.
This online Power BI training course will teach you how to use the data modelling capabilities in Power BI Desktop.
All participants will receive the certificate of completion at the end of the course.
Supercharge Power BI Online Training details and next semester schedule can be found here.
Demystifying DAX (Intermediate to Advanced DAX) Online Training with Live Online Q&A Calls
If you want guidance to take your DAX to next level, you can opt for this training, where you will learn how actually DAX formulas work, when and how to use the DAX functions, the performance of DAX formulas, how to improve it, and so on.
This online training is for those who have learnt how to write DAX and have been using DAX for at least 6 months.
You will watch the associated online videos and attend live online Q&A sessions with Matt Allington. This is a high quality Online Power BI Advanced DAX training course that will teach you how to get the most from this tool. Participants of this hands-on Power BI online training program will soon realise there is so much more to understand after you learn to write DAX to make your data models highly performant.Â
This Intermediate to Advanced DAX online training course is a combination of:
- Self-paced video based training with examples and demos. (5 modules – total video length more than 7.5 hrs.)
- Practice exercises for each module (30 min. each)
- Live online screen sharing Q&A calls with Matt Allington. (4 Q&A calls – 45 minutes each).
This online Power BI training course will teach you how to get the most of the data modelling with DAX in Power BI Desktop.
All participants will receive the certificate of completion at the end of the course.
Demystifying DAX Online Training details and next semester schedule can be found here.
Video On Demand Online Training
Power Query Academy
Power Query is a revolutionary tool to help Power BI Professionals get easy access to the data they need to do their job. Â Power Query is easy to learn, and you can super charge your learning experience with this Video on Demand Training course specifically targeted to you. This is a self-paced course with worked out examples illustrating the concepts.
You can use the sample workbooks provided with the course material to follow through the examples and practice yourselves.
The training has 3 levels – Fundamentals, Essentials and Advanced. You can either get all the levels as a bundle or first try out Fundamentals as a free course.
You can find the course content for Power Query Academy here.
Corporate In-House Training
If you want a customised training with your data and/or have more number of people to be trained you can opt for a tailored in-house training course.
Private Onsite Corporate Training
If you are in Australia you can have training at your own premises.
You can find more details here.
Live, Instructor-led Virtual Online Inhouse Training
If you are outside Australia or if your team is geographically dispersed, you can consider Virtual Online In-House Training.
Consulting
Power BI Coaching and Consulting
One of the challenges of getting started with Power BI is getting over the hump of there being so much to learn. It is not that you can’t do it, it is just that most people need some help getting started. This is where Matt Allington comes in.
There are many ways you can leverage Matt’s skills, knowledge and experience.
Matt can:
- Come on-site and meet with the key people in the organisation that want to get started with Power BI. This can be one or more people depending on the circumstances.
- Work with you online remotely anywhere in the world to help you find your way.
- Deliver training to the key Power BI business users so they can learn the skills needed to be successful.
You can find more about Power BI consulting here.
Remote Help & Support
You may have working knowledge of Power BI but need help from time to time to solve complex business problems and/or create reports with the changing needs. You can get remote help and support in such cases. Read more information here.